I work at a communications agency. If I had a nickel for every time a media rep or potential vendor called to sell his/her product or service to one of our team members, well, let’s just say I wouldn’t have to work. 

And because part of my everyday routine involves speaking to these reps and vendors, I thought I might spend some time explaining the best way to get past me—the gatekeeper—in order to get to the person with whom you’d like to speak. 

1) If this is your first time calling our agency, PLEASE do your research before calling. The great information super-highway has plenty of information about my company (and many others for that matter), and it also has information about our team members’ responsibilities and areas of expertise. Chances are you can determine who it is you want to speak to before you even dial our number. I’ll make it even easier in this blog post. Click here for a link to our team members’ information. 

2) People are busy. You are probably busy, and as it happens, so are many of the people you are trying to reach. After you are informed that the person you’d like to speak with is unavailable, it is not in your best interest to try to sell me on your product or service for the next 20 minutes. The person who is unavailable to take your call is still the right person with whom to speak. Simply ask to leave a voicemail, or better yet, ask for their e-mail address, and then proceed to directly communicate with the correct person. 

3) Harking back to the point I made in #2, people often become busy. While we understand that the product or service you’re calling to speak with us about is wonderful in its own right, chances are it may not be our most immediate priority. Calling back once an hour (or even once a day) is not appropriate. In fact, it is downright annoying, especially for the person who answers the phone. Please be patient with us and we will get back to you as soon as it is convenient. 

4) If you happened to have missed a call and it was from our phone number, please do not call back and ask me to track down the one person who made that call. If he or she did not leave a message, there is a good chance that he or she dialed the wrong number, realized it, and promptly hung up. 

5) Please do not call just to ask how long one of our team members will be in a meeting. Unfortunately, I often do not know the answer to this question, so one or both of us usually ends up frustrated/annoyed at my response. If you have an urgent matter, please leave a voicemail or send an e-mail to the person who needs to respond quickly. We understand urgency and deadlines, and we are happy to respond to your request as soon as we are available. 

As I wrap up this blog post, the thought just hit me that these tips probably apply to anyone who sells in their line of work. And that encompasses most people. So please enjoy my tips for effectively getting to the correct contact. If it makes a difference for just one reader, then I’ll feel like I’ve done my job.